Today’s blog, written by Pastor Sam Lee, was first posted on July 26, 2014

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

1 Peter 3:17

For it is better, if it is God’s will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil. 

Some people try to be good so that bad things won’t happen to them. But this is not the attitude that God wants us to have, since such thinking reflects an inadequate understanding of who God is. God is good all the time, and His goodness towards us does not hinge upon our behavior, whether good or bad.  God’s goodness is an essential aspect of His character and nothing can change this. But faulty theology begets faulty assumptions and trying to be good so that bad things won’t happen is one of them. 

Even the good that we do, for whatever reason, is often done in public, but how are we in our private world?  Someone said that character is who you are when no one is looking. Certainly, we should be in our private world what we are in public but, unlike God, we are so inconsistent.  Perhaps, too many of us forget that God is watching us even when we are all alone. Furthermore, character is something that shouldn’t change because of the way people respond to us.   It should be affected neither by people’s applause nor by their pressure. It is part of us and it should be constant whether we are with many people or if we are by ourselves. 

As to why some bad things may happen to people, looking at the New Testament church, while it is clear that Christians were persecuted, it wasn’t because they did something awful that merited God’s wrath.  That is to say, it wasn’t because they cheated their neighbors or lived an immoral life. But they were persecuted precisely because they were going good. 1 Peter 2:12 states, “Live such good lives among the pagans that, thought they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God . . .” Despite of this, “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (Acts 8:4).   In other words, they continued to love one another and preached the gospel of Jesus.

Prayer: Lord, when things are not going my way, especially when these are not my fault, motivate and empower me to perform a good deed that would benefit others; in fact, prompt me to share the gospel with someone. Amen.  

Bible Reading for Today: Isaiah 29-30